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East India Company Coins

Victoria Coins

Victoria Queen : Empress

Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837, and the first Empress of India from 1 May 1876, until her death on 22 January 1901. Her reign lasted sixty-three years and seven months, longer than that of any other British monarch.

The Victorian era was at the height of the Industrial Revolution, a period of significant social, economic, and technological change in the United Kingdom. Victoria's reign was marked by a great expansion of the British Empire and during the period it reached its zenith, becoming the formidable Global Power of the time.

On 24 May 1837 Victoria turned 18, meaning that a regency would not be necessary. Four weeks later, Victoria was awoken by her mother to find that at 12 minutes past 2 a.m. on 20 June 1837, William IV had died from heart failure at the age of seventy-one. Victoria was now Queen of the United Kingdom.

The Queen married her first cousin, Prince Albert on 10 February 1840, at the Chapel Royal in St. James's Palace; four days before, Victoria granted her husband, who was born the same year as herself, the style His Royal Highness.

In 1887, the United Kingdom celebrated Victoria's Golden Jubilee. Victoria marked the fiftieth anniversary of her accession, 20 June 1887, with a banquet to which fifty European kings and princes were invited.

On 22 September 1896, Victoria surpassed George III as the longest reigning monarch in English, Scottish, and British history.

She died on the Isle of Wight, from a cerebral hemorrhage on 22 January 1901, at the age of 81. Victoria had reigned for a total of 63 years, seven months and two days — the longest reign in British history. She was buried at Windsor beside Prince Albert, in the Frogmore Royal Mausoleum, which she had built for their final resting place. Above the Mausoleum door are inscribed Victoria's words:

'farewell best beloved, here at last I shall rest with thee, with thee in Christ I shall rise again'

Victoria was succeeded by her eldest son, The Prince of Wales,as King Edward VII. Victoria's death brought an end to the rule of the House of Hanover in the United Kingdom.

Victoria Rupee : Mint Marks

Introduction : There are three mints that produced the Rupee. All mint marks are on the reverse of the coin.

The Calcutta mint is represented either by no mint mark or an incuse (indented) letter "C" on the ornamental figure at the bottom of the coin (6 o'clock position).

The Bombay mint is represented (1874-1883) by a dot mint mark. Note that some Calcutta coins appear to have used the dot as well on 1877-1880 Rupees. It is normally just above the Ornate at the bottom of the coin. An 1879 variety has the dot in the rosette. In 1883 (the transition year) there are Rupees with the dot, the raised "B", and both dot and raised "B". The Bombay mint is represented (1883-1901) by an incuse "B" or a raised "B", usually on the flower-like ornamental figure at the top in the coin (12 o'clock position). The 1884 Rupee has the raised "B" on the whorl at the bottom (on the reverse).

The incuse "B" is sometimes inverted (upside down). It's easy to understand how this may have happened, since the tiny "B" looks much the same when inverted. Eg.Rupees with the inverted "B", 1887 and 1888.

The Madras mint closed in 1867 and so is represented only by Rupees dated 1862. The only Rupees attributed to Madras are the 1862 B/II 0/0 and the 1862 B/IIa 0/0.

The incuse "C" can appear as a tiny circle.
The incuse "B" can also be indistinct.
The raised "B" is particularly prone to problems due to wear, damage or poor striking. It often appears as a little bump on the coin.

Reverse I - The top flower is open with long, curved petals. The "1" in the date has a flat top.

Reverse II - The top flower is closed. The "1" in the date has a slanted top.

Reverse IIa - Variant of Type II on a few 1862 Rupees.Similar to type II, but the flower buds above the "E" of "ONE" and above right of the second "E" of "RUPEE" have a pineapple-like pattern.

Reverse III - The top flower is half open. The "1" in the date (1862) has a flat top.

Reverse IV - Variant of Type II . This reverse type is so far known to exist on the Bombay Rupees for the years 1879, 1880, 1881 and 1882. Most Recognizable difference in Reverse IV type is in the lotus flower to left of the date. The type II flower has five petals while the type IV has three larger petals.

Comparision of Reverse Varieties: I , II ,III , IV

In 1862 there was a variant of Reverse Type II referred to as Type IIa. It is very similar to Type II. Two flowers have a "pineapple" appearance on the Type IIa. The easiest to identify is the flower just above and to the right of the last "E" in "RUPEE". Type II does not have a flower bud, while IIa shows a pineapple-like bud. Also, a little above the "E" in "ONE" the flower bud appears pineapple-like on the Type IIa.

Detail of Reverse I

Detail of Reverse II

Detail of Reverse III

In 1862 there was another reverse variant called Reverse Type III. The top flower is very distinctive with pointed petals.

Comparision of Details of Reverse Type II and Type IV

In 1879-1882 there was a variant of Reverse Type II referred to as Type IV. It is very similar to Type II but has numerous small differences. The most recognizable difference is in the lotus flower to left of the date. Type IV has three large petals, while type II has five smaller petals.

Reverse Type IIa / Type IV

Detail of Type II variant (1878)

Victoria Rupee : Dot Varieties(1862)

DOT VARIETIES OF VICTORIA RUPEE 1862

Dots were present in 1862 Rupees at 6'o clock position above flower and at 12'o clock position above ONE written on Rupee coins.